THE STRONGER
by Yuffie Valentine
Summary: A story of Tifa in her early years. It's her first time in Midgar and she is already in trouble.
1. Default Chapter Title

The stronger 

By Yuffie Valentine

A little poem to kick things off....

Which is the more honorable

One who gave her life with out a second thought?

Or one you stay alive to live through the worst times

She is a warrior in her body

A saint in her heart

A killer with her fist

She would give her life for the planet

But she rather stays longer to do more

She might no be sweet and girly

But she is strong and beautiful

Her actions speak for themselves

She loves him

On many places she has had to prove it

She has nothing

She lost her family

She lost her home

Her whole life gone in one night's burning

But she will fight on

She will fight on for what she has left

Friends

And her love....

THE STRONGER

Okay, this is a first for me. A series that isn't having Yuffie has the main female. Come to say, there might not be any Yuffie in this whole story. This is about Tifa. Tifa is one of my favorite characters in any game. People think I like the Aeris/Cloud couple more then the Tifa/Cloud couple. This is very untrue. I love the Tifa/Cloud thing; I just choose not to hook Cloud up with either in my fics a lot cause of some evil Aeris fan. But this story is set when Tifa was just starting out in Midgar on her own. And so our story begins...

"Come on baby, just a little kiss." The drunken Shinra sailor grabbed at Tifa. 

"I said no, and the is my final warning to you." Tifa said pulling away.

"What, is the little whore in the short skirt going to but up a fight?" The sailor laughed. He lunged at Tifa again.

"Whore? Could a whore do this?" Tifa yelled out," BEAT RUSH!" The man's jaw cracked in two. Blood burst from his mouth. But he was still standing. "You should have fallen down, it would be safer for you." Tifa lifted her leg and slammed her foot into the back his head.

"Ouch, little bitch. Well let's see how you do with my friend here. SEAN!" the sailor yelled out. A 7-foot tall man stepped out for behind a building. Tifa hated street fighting; you could never tell how many enemies there were hiding. 

"I can take him." Tifa said, she got back into battle stance. Sean smiled at her. With a powerful blow to her stomach, Tifa was on her knees. He gave a powerful kick to her ribs. Tifa fell to her back, this guy was built like a rock, she had no chance with out any weapons, and she didn't even have her fighting gloves.

"Good job, Sean!" The sailor stood up, " Now let's help yourselves to this little fighter girl." He reached for Tifa's skirt. Then he felt something cold on his forehead. A gun barrel. Looking up he saw a human tank. A man with muscles popping out of every part of his arms. A gun replacing one of his hands. And a face that meant business.

"Get your Shinra loving ass away from her before and splatter it all over this sector." Barret said. 

"Yeah, you and what army?" Sean said. He pushed Barret's gun off his friends head.

"This one." A girl's voice rang out. A girl, around the age of 19. jumped down from her hiding spot. Followed by a man in army gear and a really fat guy in overalls.

"And who might you be?" Sean asked.

"AVALANCHE!" Jesse cried out. He wiped off a gun from her belt and pointed it at the two Shirna sailors.

"Avalanche? They're that group that's bee killing our men through out the city." Sean said. "Let's get them!"

Two shots rang out in the city. Jesse's gun smoked and she blow it away. 

"Hey, we were suppose to get information out of them first." Barret yelled.

"Trust me Barret, these guys weren't the talking type. Plus, we want reactor guards, not the Navy." Jesse said. 

Biggs walked over to Tifa. "You need some help up?" He said, putting out his hand to help her up. She took it and got up slowly. Her whole middle body hurt. The world was going black, and it was swirling. She fell.

Biggs picked her up. "She was doing pretty good till the tall asshole came out." 

"If she is good with a weapon, maybe we can use her." Wedge said.

"Well, for right now, let's get her back to the bar." Barret said. Biggs carried her through Sector following the rest of the team. The neared the bar, owned by a friend of theirs. They had a secret meeting place downstairs.

"She looks like she is only 16." Biggs said. 

"Young, I know, but we need more members." Barret said. He gave this girl a bit of respect, she broke a jaw without fighting gloves. She must be tough.

"Finally, we're back to the bar, food!"Wedge run ahead of the others into the bar. They all let out a laugh.

"He won't run for his life, but he will for food." Jesse let out a giggle.

While Wedge stuffed his face, Barret and Biggs enjoyed a drink. Jesse was downstairs tending to Tifa's wounds. A wallet fell out of Tifa's jacket pocket.

"Let's see who she is." Jesse held up the wallet. An ID reading Tifa Lockheart. And a few gil. The only other thing was a picture of a little 13 year old boy with blonde hair.

"Hmm, wonder who the kid is?" Jesse asked.

"His name is Cloud and he's my hero." Tifa said sitting up.

"Oh, you're awake." Jesse said, she quickly handed over the wallet. "So your name is Tifa, mine in Jesse."

"Hi, where am I?" Tifa asked.

"Sector 7." Jesse said.

"No, what city?" Tifa asked.

"Umm, we're in Midgar, how could you miss that." Jesse said.

"Well, I woke up in a doctor's office. He wasn't around so I left." Tifa said, she put a hand to her head. "Last thing I remember before that is." An image of Zack flying down the stairs in the reactor flashed into her head. Then a Shinra solider helping her up. "Cloud?"

Fin

Well this is just a trial chapter of the story. If it gets enough reviews, I'll continue. 


	2. Default Chapter Title

THE STRONGER part 2

By Yuffie Valentine

Okay this is now a "What if fic". Cause of the fact that I am bringing characters that were not supposed to meet yet and killing off ones that were alive later in the game. And plus the time is a little off with Barret and Tifa both being in Midgar. So enjoy anyway.

Tifa held her head for a second. It couldn't have been Cloud, he would have told her. I t was just her mind playing tricks making her think the things she wants, not the truth. She looked at the jacket she had on. It was not her own. It was the photographer's from town jacket. He must have put it on her when she was leaving the town. She reached into the pocket and pulled out the picture or her, Sephiroth, and Zack. 

"Oh, whose that?" Jesse said pointing to Zack, "He's cute!"

"He's dead. He was killed by him." Tifa said pointing to Sephiroth.

"Isn't that the great Sephiroth?" Jesse said, taking a closer look at the picture. "He's the best Shinra has got."

"He went mad and killed my whole town." Tifa said.

"Oh my god. Let me go show this to Barret for a second." Jesse grabbed the photo and went upstairs. She walked in to see Barret talking with the local flower girl Aeris.

"Listen Aeris, I don't care if he is the nicest man in the world, if he work for Shinra, he scum." Barret said.

"I guess you'll just have to meet Zack to know that for sure. He's the nicest boyfriend I have ever had." Aeris said. She handed Barret some flowers. He smiled and passed her some gil.

"You know, Biggs is a real nice man and he isn't taken. Plus, he fights for the right side." Barret said with a chuckle. Aeris laughed and was about to walk out when she saw Jesse come up to Barret with a picture.

"Barret, it turns out that girl is from the west and she knows a lot about Shinra. The great Sephiroth went mad and murdered her whole town." Jesse said. " Here she is with him and one of the people that was on that reactor trip."

Barret took the photo and looked at it. "Hmm, that's him alright."

Aeris thought to herself 'Reactor trip? Sephiroth? That sounds like the mission Zack went on.' She leaned over and looked at the photo. Sure enough, there was Zack.

"Hey Barret, that's Zack!" Aeris said and pointed to the picture.

"I told you them Shinra was scum Aeris, you better bet your boyfriend there didn't get hurt." Barret said. Jesse face turned pale.

"Jesse, did she say anything about Zack?" Aeris asked.

"She said...she told me... she was there when.... Aeris, I'm sorry, she told me that he died." Jesse said. Aeris dropped her flower basket in shook.

"No, she's lying, he isn't dead." Aeris yelled out in disbelief. She turned and ran out of the bar. 

"Looks like the truth hurts. Come on, I want to go talk to this girl!' Barret said. Him and Jesse made their way down the stairs to the basement hideout. Tifa was Just finishing changing her clothes.

"Hey Tifa, this is Barret! He's my boss and the leader of our group." Jesse said. 

"Nice to meet ya Tifa." Barret put out his hand to shake. He flinched a bit; this girl had a grip equal to his.

"So, you guys fight Shinra?" Tifa said.

"Yes, we are just starting out." Barret said. "Your a pretty good fighter, ever think about doing something with those skills?'

"If you are asking me to join our team it's a yes. I am going to need some help if I am ever going to get by in this city." Tifa said.

"Damn straight, this city isn't anything but scum on scum its people who do make a honest living are shoved in the Slums. The bastards that make the real money live on the plate. And the fuckers who kill anything live in the Shinra building. Funny, the lowest of creatures lives in the highest of places." Barret said.

"Hmm, well I guess I can fight this. I have to get back at them for what they did to my town and my father." Tifa said. Tears started to build up in her eyes.

"Got your father. Humph, got my wife and town too. Only thing I have left is my friend's little girl. She's the only thing I got to remind me to keep fighting." Barret said.

The secret entrance rattled and a young man in a bartending outfit came down. "Hey guys, whose you your new friend there?"

"Nick, this is Tifa. She is our newest member to the group." Jesse said.

"Well, she certainly is pretty. A pleasure to meet you. I am Nicholas Thomas, I own the bar here." Kurt said with a smile. He was a very good-looking man. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. Something about him was very comforting.

"Well Nicholas, you hardly look old enough to be even drinking at the bar." Tifa said with a laugh. Nicholas's face turned red.

"He isn't. Nick here is 19." Jesse let out a giggle.

"Well, I always wanted to own the bar after mom died. She went before I was old enough, but the Shinra don't care." Nicholas said. "And judging by the looks of it, you don't look like your old enough to be in a bar either."

"I am not in a bar, I am in a hideout." Tifa smirked.

"Well good for you. Looks like you got a little beat up there. Barret, you aren't think of taking her on the next mission?" Nicholas said.

"Nope, she is staying here for the next one. Just to be safe. While we're gone, you can show her the ropes and get her settled here." Barret said.

"It isn't enough you use my bar as a hideout, but now I am training rookies. I have to ask for more rent soon." Nicholas said with a joking tone.

"Just do it!" Barret said. "Come on Jesse, Biggs and Wedge are waiting." 

Jesse and Barret left, leaving Tifa and Nicholas to take care of the bar. Nicholas made Tifa a drink.

"You like rum?" Nicholas asked.

"Well, I never had it. And I'm under age Nicholas." Tifa said. She looked down at the drink. It smelled good. She tipped her head back and took a sip.

"Well, let's just keep this our little secret. And call me Nick!" Nick said.

"Okay. So what do you have to teach me?" Tifa said.

"Well, I don't know what Barret wanted me to teach you, but I'll try. First off, if anyone asks who you are; you and Jesse are barmaids here. Biggs, Wedge, and Barret are just some lushes that hang out here. We have to keep it a secret that this is the Avalanche hangout." Nick said. "That's all I can think of."

"Well, okay. As a barmaid do I have to make drinks or just pretend to be one?" Tifa asked.

"You have to be one. It makes it look more real. Plus if I am sick, you or Jesse will have to cover for me. It's part of the deal I have with the group for letting them stay here." Nick said. " So since we have nothing better to do, want to play cards?"

"Sure, what's the game?" Tifa asked.

"Poker, you need to know that one. Everyone in the bar plays it on Friday night." Nick said. He pulled out a deck of cards and dealt them out.

Tifa picked up her cards. Nick was a horrible cheater. Not only was he using a trick deck, he dealt her 2 ace of hearts. She smiled. 

"Okay, show them!" Nick said. He laid down a four of a kind. "Like to see you beat that."

"I can, I have five of a kind." Tifa laid down her cards. Nick looked back in forth in confusion. 

"Hey, cheater!" Nick yelled.

"How did I cheat, you dealt." Tifa said.

"Well, I guess that's enough cards. Why don't you tell me about yourself." Nick said. She put the cards back in his pocket.

"Well, I just got here. I don't know how I got here; I just kind of woke up here. I use to live in the west as a tour-guide, but that's over. Whole town was killed by a crazed Sephiroth." Tifa said. The door open behind them.

"Well, what have we have here?" Reno said. About five guards and Rude came in behind him. "It appears to be the girl sighted at the murder scene of two Shinra sailors."

"Now Reno, she just got into town. She didn't kill them. And who ever did kill them hurt her too. Look at her ribs." Nick said. He knew Reno well, one of his best costumers.

"Nick, come on. They also spotted those friends of yours there. They were the ones that killed them. Then they took this girl. We have two eyewitnesses." Reno said. He grabbed Tifa's arm. "We are going to have to take the girl in"

"Reno, she didn't do anything." Nick pleaded.

"Come on Nick, it's bad enough you are only 19 and running a bar. Don't start housing murders." Rude said.

"Let me go." Tifa kicked Reno in the stomach. When he hunched over, she brought her elbow down on his neck. Reno fell to the ground out cold.

"That's it, make one more move girl and you're dead." Rude said. He pointed to Tifa and the guards took aim.

"I am not going with any of the bastards that work for Shinra." Tifa ran up to Rude. "BEAT RUSH!"

"Ahh!" Rude went flying out the door.

"FIRE!" One of the guards yelled. Tifa tried to cover herself with her arms as the bullets rang out. The sound of a body hitting the floor was heard by Rude. He looked through the doors to see Nick laying on the floor. Blood was starting to creep across his clothing.

"On no, Not another citizen death. Get Reno and lets go!" Rude yelled to his troops. They picked up Reno and left the bar. The people of the neighborhood edged toward the door to the bar. They could see Nick being cradled by Tifa.

"Nick hold on!" Tifa grabbed her cure materia. "CURE!"

Nick's eyes opened a bit. "Tifa, don't use up all your power saving me."

"Nick, shut up or you'll use all your power." Tifa said. She put the materia in her hand again. "CURE!"

She managed to stop the blood while one of the on watchers ran to get a doctor. The man ran at top speed for Sector 4 where the best doctor in the slums lived. He ran past Barret and the team returning from battle.

"Hey Andy, where you running to?" Biggs called out to his childhood friend.

"Biggs, Turks shot Nick in the bar. I am going to get a doctor." Andy continued to run.

"Nick is shot! They must have been after us. Oh no, they might have got Tifa too." Wedge said. The team ran to the bar to see what happen.

By nightfall in the slums, Nick was in his room resting. He was a fifty percent chance of making it said the doctor. Tifa sat by his bed side the whole night talking to him, even though he was not able to hear her.

"Don't worry Nick, you'll live. And Shinra will die!" Tifa said and held Nick's hand.

Fin

Well this story made it. It is coming slowly, very slowly. But keep reviewing.


	3. Default Chapter Title

The STRONGER part 3

By Yuffie Valentine

Tifa sat on the edge of Nick's bed. He reminded her of Cloud. But then again every boy seemed to do that now a day.

"You lied Cloud." Tifa whispered. "You said you would come back to help me when I needed you." She looked at her bandaged ribs. With a large scream she ripped the bandages off. She buried the pain in her heart. She walked out of Nick's room.

"Tifa? What happen to you, your ribs are bleeding again!" Jesse said. She put down the mop she was using to clean up the bar. 

"I'll be back later." Tifa said and put her jacket on and walked out the front door. She looked around the slum. She saw a weapon shop.

The man in the weapon shop looked up from his magazine to see a young bleeding girl in front of him. "OH MY GOD! Do you need medical help miss, I can get the doctor again."

"No, I need a weapon. Why else would I be at a weapon shop?" Tifa said in a flat cold voice.

"Ummm, sure......what kind?" the man asked. He was surprised the girl was still standing with a wound like that.

"Fighting gloves, the best you got." Tifa said. The man brought out some leather gloves with metal plates sewed in them. 

"That'll be 100 gil." He said slowly. Tifa tossed a wallet at him and grabbed the gloves. She put them on as she left the store. The man opened the wallet, it was filled with gil. The ID card read "Reno: TURK".

"Oh shit, she got this off a TURK?" The man said. There was at least 500 gil in there.

Tifa walked along the path to the next sector. According to a boy that's where the next closet bar was. She had a feeling that's where she would find the TURKS. As she entered the town, the guards that shot Nick were hanging out just at the corner.

"Hey, ain't that the girl who messed up Reno?" The first guard asked. The rest looked and nodded. The walked over to Tifa and surrounded her.

"Well, well, well. Lil' Miss Kung Fu queen here wants another fight. Want us to shot you just like your little bar buddy?" One of the guards said with a chuckle.

"No, I wanted to give you guys a little something to pay you back for that stunt." Tifa said. Her hand whipped out and grabbed the first guard's neck. "And the name is Tifa."

With a flip of her wrist the guard's neck snapped like a twig. She let go and he fell to the floor. 

"Crap! Get the TURKS FROM THE BAR!" The guard yelled to another one. But Tifa caught him in the back with her leg. With one hard kick his back cracked apart. He fell dead on top of the other guard's body.

"None of you are going to make it out of this alive." Tifa yelled. "2 down, three to go!"

"No way bitch!" A guard whipped out gun. Tifa glared back at him. 

"BEAT RUSH!" she launched a series of blows on him. He fell neatly on to the pile. The last to rushed at Tifa. She dodged both of their punches and grabbed them by the back of their heads. She then slammed their heads together. They cracked and went limp. They dropped onto the pile.

Reno and Rude came out of the bar with the noise of all the fighting. They looked to see their guards dead in a heap. The girl from Nick's place standing there. Her shirt soaked in her own blood. The rest of her splattered in Shinra blood.

"Rude, I think we better leave and report this while we still can." Reno said. Rude and Reno ran off. Tifa began sprint but fell. She felt sleepy. She lost a lot of blood. She watched in a haze as the TURKS turned into dots on the horizon. Her closed again.

Tifa awoke to the sound of Jesse and Barret talking. She listened but didn't open her eyes. 

" She is too much of a risk, Barret. She went out wounded without anybody and could have been captured by the TURKS! She is a nice girl and we can help her till she recovers, but then she has to leave." Jesse said. "She doesn't listen to orders."

"As I recall, when we were saving her, someone shot and killed the sailors that got us in all this trouble in the first place. If anyone were getting kicked off the team, Jesse, it would be you. But we don't kick people off this team, we need all the help we can get." Barret said. "Now go check on Nick."

"Yes, Barret." Jesse said in a low voice. She walked from the room.

"Now Tifa, you can stop pretending to be asleep." Barret said, turning to Tifa in the bed.

Tifa sat up, "How could you tell?" 

"I have a baby girl to watch over, I have learned how to tell when they are faking sleep." Barret said. "Now, why did you go out and kill them Shinra boys."

"I'm sorry, I just got mad about Nic........" Tifa started to say before Barret stopped her. 

"Don't worry, I was not mad at you cause you killed, I was mad cause I wanted my chance at them first. But I have to say, I think you gave them far more of a better beating then I could have." Barret said with a chuckle.

" I don't know where I got the strength for that." Tifa said, " I amazed myself."

"Yeah, I would say so. Now you get your rest. And don't worry about Nick, he's doing a whole lot better then since you left." Barret said. He walked out of the room, flipping of the light switch on his way out.

"Gee, I don't know what to do. I sort of just got a whole new life. Weird one day I am wondering if that creepy Shinra solider will ever come out of the mansion, the next I'm beating Shinra troops to death." Tifa said.

"Tifa......" a voice cried out in the dark. Tifa took a look around. She saw something in the doorway. As soon as it caught her looking, it dashed down the hall.

"Wait! Hold on!" Tifa got up and ran down it. As she got a good sight of it, it was a small boy. "Who are you?"

The little boy stopped and turned around. Tifa gasped.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"I saved you Tifa, don't hate me, I tried my best. I was your knight." The child Cloud pleaded. 

"Cloud....what are you talking about?" Tifa asked. She reached out to touch him, her hand went right through his shoulder. She let out a scream.

"I saved you in the reactor, I was your Knight." Cloud said.

"But....how did you know about the reactor, you weren't even there! You never came back! Unless,....this is all my imagination. You aren't really Cloud at all." Tifa said. She got up and began to turn to go back to bed.

"wait....Tifa." Cloud's image cried out. Tifa turned to take one last look at Cloud, but it was no longer Cloud in Child form, it was what he would look like if he were sixteen.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked the figure.

"Tifa please, I need your help now!" Cloud said. He appeared to be floating and have wires attached to him like he was some sort of lab experiment.

"Cloud? WHERE ARE YOU?" Tifa ran back to the figure.

"Home.............." Cloud's figure disappeared.

"Home? Niblehiem?" Tifa asked herself. "Impossible, I just need more sleep."

Tifa returned to her bed. Her eyes closed and she drifted slowly to sleep. Cloud's face stuck in her mind. Her sleep ended early that morning when she heard yelling from the bar. She removed the night gown she was wearing and but on her clothes.

"What's all the noise out here?" Tifa asked.

She saw Barret running around the bar chasing a child. He was cussing and throwing things at it.

"Get back here you little rat." Barret said and chucked a bottle at it's head. Tifa stepped in the child's path and grabbed it by the collar.

"What's going on here Barret?" Tifa asked. The child tried to wrestle itself free from Tifa's grip. It was about 10 or 11.

"That little boy there stole my materia! I was saving that for money to help feed Marlene." Barret yelled.

"I'm not a little boy, I'm a little girl!" the girl kicked Barret in the face.

"Why you little!" Barret held his nose.

"Hey, give it back or I'll take it back kid!" Tifa said, she put out her free hand to the girl. The girl looked sad. Her little headband fell over her eyes as her fell in shame. A few whimpers came from the girl's mouth. "Oh what's wrong honey? Why are you stealing?"

"I have to. My daddy needs the money, but is too proud to beg, so he has me steal materia. I never get any, I always get caught. I just wish I could do something right for him." The girl burst into tears.

"Oh that's horrible. But we need the money too, so I am still afraid you can't have this materia." Tifa said. "Can I please have it back, I won't hurt you and neither will Barret."

"Promise?" The girl looked up with her big brown eyes. 

"Promise." Tifa said with a smile. The girl put her hand to Tifa's and dropped an orb into it. Tifa looked down not to see the green materia, but a small black orb. "What the hell is this?" 

"Smoke bomb, GO!" The girl cried out and the orb exploded into a huge cloud of smoke. Tifa started to choke and covered her mouth with both hands. The girl ran out of the bar chuckling over yet another sucker fooled by her lies.

"Damn it!" Barret said. "That kid is going to get it if I ever see her again."

" I have a feeling this only the first time we'll have to deal with her." Tifa said.

Okay, first fic written in a LONG time. Review please! Next part come when it comes!


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